NATO Information and Documentation Centre (NIDC)

The NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Ukraine (NIDC) was inaugurated in May 1997 on the eve of signing the NATO-Ukraine Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, which serves as the founding document for the relationship between NATO and Ukraine. The NIDC is part of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division and was the first information office established by NATO in a Partner country, and open to the general public.

In September 2015, the Secretary General signed an Agreement with the Ukrainian authorities establishing the NATO Representation comprising the two NATO bodies operating in Ukraine - NATO Information and Documentation Centre and NATO Liaison Office (NLO) in Ukraine - with the necessary legal framework. The two offices will eventually move and be collocated in the same premises courtesy of the Ukrainian Government.

The NIDC in Kyiv plays a key role in promoting a better understanding in Ukraine of NATO’s core tasks and priorities, benefits of NATO-Ukraine co-operation, as well as in in providing support to the Ukrainian authorities in the area of public information and strategic communications.

The NIDC also contributes to the efforts to facilitate and enhance Ukraine’s participation in co-operation activities with NATO in the frameworks of the NATO-Ukraine Charter, Ukraine’s Annual National Programme, Strategic Communications Partnership and other forms of cooperation between NATO and Ukraine. It advises the Ukrainian authorities and institutions in area of strategic communications and public diplomacy.

NIDC Staff

Maintaining and establishing contact with all relevant civil and military ministries or agencies;

Advising and assisting the Ukrainian authorities, in particular the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior, the National Security and Defence Council, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Emergency Service in respect of strategic communications, as well as in developing communications activities in respect of defence and security sector reforms;

Developing and organizing public diplomacy and communications activities for visiting NATO officials;

Developing and implementing public diplomacy and communications programmes, including training and capacity building programmes and activities in the realm of public diplomacy, in furtherance of the NATO-Ukraine Distinctive Partnership;

Strengthening public awareness of NATO through personal contacts and the dissemination of information on NATO, to allow free access to information on NATO to audiences and the public at large, including, inter alia, government officials and structures, the military and security authorities and institutions, in particular the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior, the National Security and Defence Council, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Emergency Service, as well as parliamentarians and their researchers, the media, journalists and media professionals, libraries, university and institute departments dealing with political, security, foreign policy and defence matters, relevant nongovernmental organizations and economic and business leaders, and other interested publics;

Establishing a comprehensive NATO computer-based documentation and correspondence network, which will be freely accessible electronically to the Ukrainian and international publics;

Initiating, co-ordinating and/or organizing national, regional and international seminars, conferences and roundtables on European and global security, and specifically on NATO's role;

Reviewing and co-ordinating proposals for potential visitors to NATO and NATO-related conferences and seminars, and assisting with visits to Ukraine of NATO officials;

Making available information on NATO academic and scientific programs to potential applicants, and reviewing applications;

Contributing to, monitoring and reporting on Ukrainian and international media coverage of NATO-related issues;

Liaising with NATO authorities in the context of relevant NATO-Ukraine activities and co-operation programmes; and

Any other public diplomacy activities.

Public Diplomacy/Communications Projects

In order to facilitate NATO’s core mission and activities in Ukraine, NIDC supports various public diplomacy and communications projects, including seminars, conferences, multimedia projects aimed at promoting awareness and better understanding of NATO, its values and activities, and NATO-Ukraine cooperation.

Flagship projects in Ukraine include the Kyiv Security Forum, Yalta European Strategy, and others.

Grants are awarded on a regular basis throughout the year to recognized Ukrainian non-governmental organizations for a variety of initiatives and activities related to NATO and/or NATO-Ukraine relations. For more information and/or an application form, please visit the following link: NATO Public Diplomacy Division’s Co-Sponsorship Grants. Please send requests for additional information and project applications relating to Ukraine to projects@nato.kiev.ua.

Implementing the Strategic Communications Partnership Roadmap

NIDC advises Ukrainian authorities on Strategic Communications. A major milestone expanding the scope of NATO-Ukraine relations was achieved in September 2015 in agreeing the NATO-Ukraine Strategic Communications Partnership Roadmap (further referred to as ‘Roadmap’). The Roadmap was signed by the NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg and the Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov.

The NIDC is the NATO executing manager in Ukraine for the Roadmap and its associated programs and activities. While the Secretariat of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine is the primary lead and co-ordinating authority on behalf of Ukraine.

The Strategic Communications Partnership aims to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian authorities in the field of Strategic Communications, assist the development of Ukraine’s Strategic Communications culture and maintain the highest standards of accuracy and ethics to ensure the credibility and efficiency of Ukraine’s government communications. Activities under the Roadmap Implementation Plan are tailored to achieve these goals and focus on: capacity building in various communications disciplines, training capacity development, public diplomacy, and research in the sphere of communications.

Under the Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine adopted at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, NATO will assist Ukraine in the development of strategic communications capabilities of the Defence Forces through the implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Strategic Communications Roadmap.